Pessimism remained in the seaborne coking coal market despite cfr China prices regaining some losses on Friday June 28.A Capesize cargo of premium low-vol hard coking coal, scheduled for loading over July 5-15, was sold to a southern Chinese steelmaker at $197 per tonne cfr China during the day, a source at the mill said."I would still think that the price floor has yet to be reached. But we have...Read More
Cheaper H2 scrap from Japan is likely to limit the large quantities of heavy melting scrap (HMS) coming into the region from the United States, at least in the near term, market sources told Fastmarkets this week.This is mainly because Vietnamese steel mills will be loathe to pay premiums for US-origin material when they can get Japanese scrap at cheaper prices.VietnamFastmarkets' price assessment...Read More
China's rebar market maintained its upward momentum on Friday June 28 amid rising futures, though spot demand fell gradually. Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 3,960-4,000 yuan ($577-583) per tonne, up 20 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing): 3,850-3,880 yuan per tonne, up 40-50 yuan per tonneRebar futures rose during the day with traders engaging in speculation amid bullish sentiment attribute...Read More
The first day of the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Japan gets underway on Friday June 28. With world leaders gathering at the event, and a few notable meetings scheduled on the sidelines, market participants will be keeping a close eye on any developments.The London Metal Exchange three-month base metals prices were weaker on Friday morning and it is worth noting that the strongest performer this we...Read More
Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly little changed to weaker during Asian morning trading on Friday June 28, with aluminium leading on the downside. The most-traded August aluminium contract on the SHFE stood at 13,805 yuan ($2,008) per tonne as at 10.38am Shanghai time, down by 95 yuan per tonne, or 0.7%, from Thursday's close of 13,900 yuan per tonne.The rest of the c...Read More
ERG partially restarted production of cobalt metal at Chambishi in Zambia earlier this month. It is understood that the new production is fed by hydroxide produced at ERG's Metalkol Roan Tailings & Reclamation (RTR) project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). RTR started production late last year, with output in the process of increasing to 14,000 tonnes per year of cobalt in the form of...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves.Read More
The following Fastmarkets minor metals prices changed on Friday June 28:Minor metalsAntimony MB free market regulus, $/tonne: $6,180-6,400 per tonne from $6,300-6,500Antimony MMTA standard grade II, $/tonne: $6,100-6,350 per tonne from $6,150-6,400Bismuth MB free market, $/lb: $2.95-3.15 per lb from $3.00-3.20Bismuth MB China domestic, yuan/tonne: 41,500-42,500 yuan per tonne from 42,000-43,000 yu...Read More
An overview of the minor metals markets and the reasons for any price moves. Read More
Fastmarkets MB is proposing the launch of weekly export price assessments for stainless grade 304 Chinese hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil.These assessments highlight China's status as a major exporter of stainless steel and will serve as a price benchmark for the international market for the products.Assessment: Stainless steel cold-rolled coil, grade 304 (2mm), fob China, $/tonne Qualit...Read More
For the second week running, European austenitic alloy steel scrap prices were largely unchanged when the effects of higher nickel prices were cancelled out by very low demand, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday June 28."[Weak] demand is winning against nickel [prices] at the moment," a UK trader said, observing that demand is so low it has overtaken nickel prices as the primary driver of austenit...Read More
The following Fastmarkets non-ferrous European free market scrap prices changed on Friday June 28:Aluminium scrap Cast: ?,?850-880 per...Read More
Nickel's three-month price on the London Metal Exchange was higher at the close of trading on Thursday June 27, up by about 2% amid continued buying momentum, with positive US GDP figures shoring up commodity investments. Three-month nickel futures closed at their highest level since April at $12,710 per tonne in the afternoon, improving by just under 9% from a June-low of $11,605 per tonne o...Read More
A gallery collapse at Glencore's Kamoto Copper Company in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed 19 people, the company said in a filing on the London Stock Exchange on June 27.The miners were working illegally at a project, which has had on average 2,000 illegal incursions onto its jurisdiction per day, the company said adding that further casualties were a possibility."The incident has no i...Read More
Monthly European alloy surcharges for July deliveries of stainless steel products will be lower than the June surcharge after the price of nickel continued to fall.Fastmarkets' alloy surcharge for July deliveries of grade-304 cold-rolled stainless sheet is set to fall to ?,?1,318-1,362 ($1,498-1,548) per tonne, down ?,?18-21 per tonne from June's surcharge levels, according to calcu...Read More
A gallery collapse at Glencore's Kamoto Copper Company in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed 19 people, the company said in a filing on the London Stock Exchange on June 27.The miners were working illegally at a project, which has had on average 2,000 illegal incursions onto its jurisdiction per day, the company said adding that further casualties were a possibility."The incident has no i...Read More
A gallery collapse at Glencore's Kamoto Copper Company in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed 19 people, the company said in a filing on the London Stock Exchange on June 27.The miners were working illegally at a project, which has had on average 2,000 illegal incursions onto its jurisdiction per day, the company said adding that further casualties were a possibility."The incident has no i...Read More
The Chinese domestic cobalt metal price fell by 3.1% in the midweek pricing session due to sluggish demand during the traditionally weak consumption season causing suppliers to compete fiercely for limited inquiries in the spot market. Fastmarkets assessed the Chinese domestic cobalt metal price at 220,000-250,000 yuan per tonne ($12.85-14.61 per lb, less China-VAT) on Wednesday June 26, down...Read More
The G20 Summit, which takes place in Osaka, Japan, this weekend has cast a shadow over the Asian ferrous metals markets.Market participants are hoping a quick resolution to the trade war between China and the United States will provide much-needed relief both for steelmakers and downstream buyers at a time of squeezed margins and weak demand.One of the key themes at t...Read More
Turkish steel mills stayed away from the deep-sea markets on Thursday June 27, with few signs of demand for further July scrap cargoes, sources told Fastmarkets.Producers booked a number of deep-sea cargoes for July last week before stepping away from the market.And while a few more cargoes were expected to be booked for July shipment, firm...Read More